The lightweight and durable Amazfit GTS is often touted as a budget version of the Apple Watch. There is no denying it’s inspired by the high end smartwatch, but the GTS actually has some advantages over its muse.
Amazfit GTS is brought to you by Huami, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer under the Xiaomi umbrella. The company has been quickly gaining traction with its latest releases – Amazfit Stratos 3, Amazfit GTR, Amazfit Verge Lite, Amazfit Nexo, Amazfit BIP Lite and the GTS. Each smartwatch has its own different features, designs and priceline.
Here we’re breaking down the Amazfit GTS and providing you a detailed look at what it has to offer.
Features
| AMOLED Display with metal body | Music playback |
| Clean UI with customizable widgets | Integrated GPS |
| 5 ATM water resistance | Notifications from calls and texts |
| 12 Workout modes | 14 Day battery life |
| BioTracker for heart rate, calorie consumption and sleep monitoring |
Appearance And Design
Given its performance based focus, this is a smartwatch designed to withstand the rigours of various everyday wear and fitness activities while remaining light on the wrist. Corning Gorilla 3 tempered glass safeguards its round AMOLED display in a 1.65-inch square screen. The 348 x 442 pixel resolution provides a crisp display and the NTSC color spectrum completes the vibrant colour experience.
There is a simple on/off button on its side while the body is made from aluminium alloy. It comes in a standard size and colour, but there are colour variations available for its 20mm-wide strap.
Battery
There are two battery modes available for the GTS: Daily Use Mode and Basic Watch Mode.
On Daily Use Mode, the battery lasts for around 14 days with all features running all the time. Basic Watch Mode adds 32 days from a single charge. However, this is achieved by turning off bluetooth, heart rate tracking and other functions, turning the device into more of a digital watch. It uses a 220mAh Lithium-Ion Polymer battery which takes around two hours to fully charge.
Functionality
Huami has added in some much sought-after features within its range to compete with bigger brands. While there are some limitations and minor problems, usage remains a largely positive experience.
Modular Watch Faces
A unique feature of the Amazfit GTS is its modular watch faces. They essentially present as widgets which provide a quick view of the information most important to you. You can choose from the two variations within the watch or alternatively use the app for additional options. For example, you can have the weather displayed along with your current heart rate, step count, reminders and any of the other available widgets.
Continuous GPS
Most budget trackers leave out a built-in GPS tracker and opt instead for syncing with your phone to calculate tracking info – but this can compromise the accuracy of the information available. The GTS includes a continuous GPS tracker for mapping out training sessions as you go along. It’s not perfect, because there are minor inaccuracies with its calculations as it takes around 5-10 minutes in order to register an activity from its automated mode. It should, however, provide you with a decent guide.
Activity Tracking
The smartwatch comes with Huami’s standard 12 fitness modes for dedicated information regarding your activity. Additionally, the device is waterproof so it can be used to track swimming in water up to 50 meters only. The list of activities it covers comprises of:
| Running | Indoor Cycling |
| Treadmill | Open Water Swimming |
| Trail Running | Pool Swim |
| Walking | Climbing |
| Eliptical | Skiing |
| Outdoor Cycling | Exercise |
The information obtained from your workout is calculated within the Amazfit App along with further analysis of your performance. In conjunction to its fitness tracking, the GTS also patterns out your sleep and relays its quality according to your profile.
Heart Rate Tracking
Besides the activity modes and GPS, the device also uses heart rate measurements to identify the intensity of your workouts. If your heart rate is particularly high before, during or after your workouts, you’ll be notified immediately. This enables you to chart your progress and is definitely a must-have for runners.
Syncs With Your Smartphone
The GTR does provide limited functionality as a smartwatch. You can get notifications about calls, messages and other alerts through a subtle vibration. Its apps will allow you to check the weather, set reminders or alarms or be notified of upcoming events. There is a slight sync delay, but it shouldn’t bother most users. Moreover, you can control your phone’s audio playback through the watch with a few simple flicks.
| Main Advantages | Main Disadvantages |
| Decent battery life | Slow updates and syncs |
| Stylish AMOLED screen display | Notifications can be inconsistent |
| Waterproof | GPS takes a few minutes to activate |
| Multiple activity tracking | |
| Message and call notifications | |
| GPS tracking when active |
Summary
In the end, the Amazfit GTS provides a fairly decent smartwatch experience and trumps the Apple Watch with its excellent battery life. The product has some delay issues but not enough to worry about for the price. The GTR gets an overall recommendation for its lightweight form and sports watch functionality – quirks included.
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Last Updated on August 18, 2021
Emma brings over a decade of freelance copy and content writing experience and is our Editor, Social Media Manager, and regular contributor. Specializing in long-form content such as blogs, articles, lead magnets, and white papers, Emma also provides businesses with email marketing, website copy, and landing pages.